Awakening: The Last Coven Series

by KT Webb

  “Just a grassy hill. I guess it was more like a mound, it wasn’t all that big.”

  “I read something about that today,” Grace interjected from beside her. “It’s called a sidhe.”

  “I don’t think a hill can have a gender? Why would it be called a ‘she?’” Harper asked.

  Grace giggled. “Not a she, a sidhe. It sounds the same. It’s a mound where the fae live.”

  “As in fairies? Like, fairies are real too? What’s next, sprites?” Harper shouldn’t have been surprised by the revelation that even more creatures she thought to be myth were truly real.

  No one answered her question; how would any of them know? The girls slowly drifted back to sleep and didn’t wake until well after sunrise.

  Harper

  Chapter Sixteen

  Into the Water

  Abigail and Paul loaded them down with food and supplies. Sutton reassured them that she could conjure anything they needed, and that the other girls probably could too, but they insisted on preparing them for their journey. Harper knew her parents were nervous about sending their daughter through a magical portal to another country. She didn’t want to leave them behind, no matter how many times she reminded herself that they would be in more danger if they came along.

  Due to the carelessness of humanity, the existence of pure natural springs in the United States was limited to National Parks. The girls would have to travel to Wyoming in order to perform their ritual. Only water untouched by chemicals and pollution would be a strong enough conductor for their magic. Deep in Yellowstone National Park they found Grand Prismatic Spring; the largest hot spring in the United States.

  They stood in the living room facing her parents. Paul’s eyebrows knit together in concern, and Abigail was desperately trying to hide the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.

  “You know how to set everything up right?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Landry. We’ve got everything tucked away in Grace’s bag. We’re ready.”

  Abigail nodded. “Good. Everyone ate enough for supper?”

  “Mom, we’ll be alright. We’re as ready as we’re going to be. I’ve got my phone. I’ll keep in touch with you.” Harper choked back tears of her own.

  Her parents embraced her for what felt like a fraction of a second, but might have to last a lifetime. If she didn’t go then, she never would. Harper stepped back to the others and let Grace take her hand. A crackling blue light appeared beside them, like a window to another world. On either side of the hole was her living room, but what she saw inside took her breath away. The sun was setting above a barren valley. In the center of the basin, a vibrant pool emitted steam from a liquid rainbow. They stepped through the portal a moment later.

  The air was humid; she could feel the heat emanating from the spring. She looked at the other girls as they surveyed the area. When they were certain they were alone in the twilight hours, they began to set up their altar. There would be no crystals or candles this time; they wouldn’t be staying for clean-up, so the ritual was designed to be done on the go. Grace set her bag down and pulled out the mortar and pestle along with the individually bagged ingredients. Sutton got to work grinding the willow bark, mint leaves, and clover before pouring them back into their separate bags. Dee watched with great interest, though her eyes continually flitted between the witches and the water. She was anxious, but Harper couldn’t pinpoint the source of her anxiety.

  When all the components were ready, they sat in a circle around a large metal bowl. Each of them had a role, and each had to participate for the spell to work.

  “We call to the Goddess to grant our plea,” Sutton said boldly, as she placed five small jade shards into the bowl.

  “We seek to fulfill our mission as the last coven of true witches,” Lucy explained, slowly dumping the ground willow bark over the jade.

  “We call upon the first coven, our grandmothers—Samhain, Beltane, Imbolc, and Lughnasadh.” Grace continued, sprinkling the mint leaves into the bowl.

  “We ask for guidance and safe passage to the sacred waters of Tobernalt.” Harper poured the clovers out of her bag.

  “So mote it be,” Dee finished, dropping a match into the bowl.

  The girls closed their eyes, inhaling the earthy smoke that billowed out of their mixture. When the smoke disappeared, each girl took one of the jade stones and approached the edge of the spring. Harper’s heart beat rapidly at the excitement that lay ahead.

  “Do you think it worked?” Dee whispered.

  “Only one way to find out,” Lucy replied. “On the count of three?”

  “One.”

  “Two.”

  “Three.”

  All five girls stepped into the water. Harper had expected to hold her breath, she’d expected to have to swim, she’d certainly expected to get wet. Oddly enough, none of that happened. They were standing in a tunnel of quickly rotating water; almost like a wormhole from Doctor Who.

  “Now what?” Lucy asked as she turned around, looking at the water surrounding them.

  “Ahh!” Sutton cried out as Dee touched the liquid walls of the tunnel. The water had splashed back at them as though she’d reached through the veil of a waterfall.

  The more Harper examined her surroundings, the more she noticed tiny threads of pink light swirling through the water. It was as if they were guiding them forward, down the endless hall of water.

  “I think we need to go this way,” Harper gestured ahead of them.

  The other girls followed her lead. It seemed like the surrounding current moved faster with every step, like a moving walkway at an airport. All the dancing lights converged to create an ovoid outline. Lucy turned and grinned at the others.

  “As Ozzy would say, see you on the other side!”

  Harper laughed as she followed Lucy through the outline and into the well at Tobernalt. A stone wall covered in moss surrounded them. There was barely enough room for the two of them, so they followed the shallow stone steps out of the clear water. She shouldn’t have been surprised to find her clothes and backpack completely dry, but she was. The magic seemed to vibrate in the air around them.

  “Who were you thanking, Dee?” Sutton materialized in the well as soon as Grace stepped through.

  Dee was at her side with her arms crossed. “Would you just drop it? I was thanking the goddess for allowing us safe travel, okay?”

  Sutton furrowed her brow at her friend. She didn’t seem to buy her explanation, and Harper wondered what had transpired after she’d left the tunnel of water.

  “It seemed more personal, I don’t know, like you knew the person you were thanking or something.”

  Dee shrugged and tried to change the subject. “So, we’re here. Now what?”

  “Now, you’re free to go, Deirdre.”

  A vaguely familiar man’s voice startled them. The girls turned as one to see a tall, cloaked man with a flowing white beard. A hood concealed his face, but Harper didn’t have to see him to know he must have been ancient.

  “Deirdre?” Sutton questioned, giving her friend a quizzical look.

  The color drained from Dee’s face as she beheld the strange man. From the look on her face, Harper knew exactly who this man was. He was Brennus. Her breath caught in her throat and she tried to back away but found herself rooted to the spot. She would have warned the others, if only she’d known Dee was leading them right into a trap.

  Dee sighed, “Yes, Sutton. My real name is Deirdre.”

  “And how does this guy know you?”

  Her face reddened. “He sent me to watch you.”

  “What?!” Sutton screeched.

  “Look, it wasn’t my idea and I wasn’t exactly happy about it. It was more like a punishment for causing mischief. I made your life a living hell because I was in hell having to be a human teenager.” Dee stamped her foot for emphasis.

  Grace, Lucy and Harper stood on one side of the girls as they squared off. Brennus stood on the other side, watching th
e way one would casually observe an ant on the sidewalk. The tension was thick, and Harper felt guilty for not sounding the alarm when she’d overheard the conversation between Dee and the mysterious man.

  “So you just pretended to be my friend because I got my powers?”

  “At first. But it’s not like that Sutton. You’re the first human I’ve been able to stand.”

  “Why do you keep saying human like you aren’t one?”

  “Because I’m not!”

  Dee held out her hands and closed her eyes; the same pink light Harper had seen around her began to glow and expand. The brighter the light became, the more difficult it was to determine where it ended and she began. Her feet left the ground and she let her head fall backward as the light completely enveloped her. All at once, it disappeared, leaving a mostly naked girl with pale pink skin floating where Dee had stood.

  Her hair was white, with a faint lavender hue that appeared when the light hit it just right. A thin green leaf crisscrossed her chest, covering her breasts as it went. Her head was adorned by a crown made of twigs and decorated by moss and river rocks. Wrapped around her waist was a flowing reflective skirt; the material appeared to mimic fish scales as it reflected the sun. Sheer wings that changed color with the light had sprouted from her back, and her ears grew to a sharp point. She was breathtaking.

  “Witches of the Last Coven, allow me to introduce you to Deirdre, Queen of the Water Sprites.”

  Dee was a queen? Dee was a water sprite? Harper had to force her mouth closed as she stared at the creature in front of her. She’d almost forgotten how shady the situation was, that they couldn’t trust Dee or Brennus—and she’d almost forgotten the other girls knew even less about this than she did. Sutton looked crushed. Her best friend had betrayed her and lied about her true identity. They had trusted Dee with their secrets and their magic, but she had brought them to the mercy of a stranger in a foreign country.

  “As I said Deirdre, you are free to go.”

  “Listen here Dumbledore, you don’t decide when any of us leaves. We don’t even know who you are!” Sutton snapped.

  “I think his name is Brennus.” Harper chose the wrong moment to speak up.

  The other witches turned and stared at her in shock. She’d gone this long without telling them what she’d heard, why did she pick this exact moment to spill the beans?

  “We’ll talk about that later. First, let me deal with the sprite,” Sutton said.

  Harper didn’t like the sound of that, and she wasn’t about to let Sutton think she was the boss of anyone. She may be the oldest, and might have received her powers first, but that didn’t mean she got to push the other girls around. Harper wasn’t a follower—she liked to do her own thing—and if being part of the coven meant she’d have to take orders, she wasn’t interested.

  “We’ll talk about it now. I overheard a conversation between these two back at the museum. I wasn’t sure what to think of it, and I wasn’t about to go into a room full of girls I’d just met and tell them one of their number was a traitor. I wasn’t hiding anything; I kept an eye on her the whole time.”

  Sutton stared at Harper blankly before her expression broke into one of understanding. Of course, the other girl understood where she was coming from. She probably would have made the same decision if their roles were reversed.

  “Guys, I think we need to take a step back and figure out what’s going on. Maybe you should let Dee. . . I mean Deirdre, explain why she did what she did,” Grace suggested.

  Brennus took a step forward. “I assigned her to watch over you so I would know when the process had begun. You needed to find your own way here, but I wanted to be certain you would have someone from our side to protect you along the way.”

  “What did I say, Gandalf?” Sutton asked as she glared at the old man.

  Harper and Lucy were trying desperately to contain their giggles. It wasn’t exactly the best situation for them to burst out laughing.

  “Sutton, I hope one day you’ll understand why I did this. I hope one day we can move past it. I truly value your friendship. For now, I will leave you with the Druids to begin the next phase of your journey.”

  With one last look at Sutton, Dee shrank into a tiny ball of pink light and disappeared into the holy well at Tobernalt.

  Sutton

  Chapter Seventeen

  Druids and Vates

  As soon as Dee was gone, Sutton wanted to go after her. They weren’t finished with their conversation, and the stupid sprite had just left her and the other girls in a strange place with a strange man. Sutton glared at the holy well as though her anger would somehow summon Dee back to her. It didn’t work.

  “Now, Sabrina, it’s my turn to talk and your turn to listen.”

  Did the creepy old dude just make a pop-culture reference? Harper and Lucy were still trying to conceal their giggles, and Grace stood by with concern etched on her face. That girl needed to relax or she’d end up with worry lines before the end of the week.

  “Well, are you going to talk, or was that just supposed to intimidate me?”

  Removing his hood, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was old, but she had no idea how old. The long white beard was accented by dark gray lowlights. His face was etched with deep canyons that reminded Sutton of crumpled paper. She couldn’t be certain, but she had a hunch that this man had seen a millennium or more.

  “As you already heard, my name is Brennus. I witnessed the birth and triumph of the first coven, and drove the sons of Carman from this land. I was told of your existence and what it would mean for our kind.”

  “Look, if you can make Sabrina the Teenage Witch references, you can speak a bit more plainly. Not that we don’t appreciate the whole ‘looming destiny’ speech, but we don’t know you and we don’t know what you want from us,” Lucy spouted off, surprising herself and the others.

  “I am a Druid. I am older than you can imagine and probably even older than that. I understand that you’re wary of me, especially after the betrayal of planting Dee amongst you. What you need to understand is. . . we need you.”

  Sutton eyed him suspiciously. Druids were supposed to be extremely powerful, why would they need a bunch of teenagers to do anything for them? Shouldn’t they be able to wave a hand and have their way?

  “What do you need us to do?” Grace demanded.

  That’s it girl! Sutton gave her friend a small smile of encouragement. Brennus looked uncomfortable. His eyes flitted around the sacred place, landing back on each of the girls in turn. His expression left Sutton wondering if they should be on their guard; could someone be watching them?

  “I need to take you somewhere else. Somewhere less accessible to our enemies and the creatures who serve them.” He held his arms out as though awaiting an embrace. Sutton crossed her arms; he would have to keep waiting.

  All at once, the vibrant green around them blurred and faded until it was replaced by the thick, shady bark of an ancient forest. Insects flitted back and forth between the tree branches. Tall grass marked the edge of a long-forgotten path that disappeared into the overcrowded trees. A small hill could be seen through the narrow gap that allowed the path to wind its way through.

  “Come, follow me.” Brennus set off into the woods.

  Sutton and Grace began to follow, only to be pulled back by the other two. Harper and Lucy glanced at Brennus’ retreating form as they pulled their companions aside.

  “Dude, no. Haven’t you ever seen a horror film?” Lucy asked.

  “I mean, this is like, rule number one of any psycho-killer movie I’ve ever seen. Don’t follow a stranger. Rule number two? Stay out of the woods.” Harper gestured to the looming trees behind them.

  “C’mon, what’s an old geezer going to do to us? We’re witches.” Sutton rolled her eyes.

  “Don’t get all cocky. We’re alone in a foreign country, and we’re not all that sure how to use our magic yet,” Lucy reminded her.

 
Brennus made it to the end of the path and waited impatiently near the hill. “I wouldn’t linger too long, the fairies get a bit territorial.”

  “Fairi—” Grace perked up just before a chittering light dive-bombed her head.

  Sutton reached her hands up to stop the assault as one of the creatures zeroed-in on her. The insects she’d seen when they first arrived were actually tiny people. They were all white and androgynous, with large azure eyes. Their wings moved so quickly they appeared to not move at all. They were nothing like she’d ever imagined a fairy would be.

  A pack of the little buggers had wound their way into Harper’s hair and were tying it into knots. She swatted at them despite the fact that it only seemed to encourage them further. Grace was standing perfectly still with her hands held in front of her. Two of the airborne pests had landed on her and were carefully walking along her arms. She was smiling as they chittered at her in a language only they could understand. Lucy opted to play dead, and was lying on the ground with her arms protectively wrapped above her head. Sutton surveyed the chaos and decided her best course of action was to run for the cover of the forest.